Yosemite - Hetch Hetchy
(Click photo for all 66 photos)
The morning is foggy and it lends a quiet feel to the valley. As we head out, we stop again at the beautiful Valley View scenic spot and enjoy the river and the mountains once again. We then choose to leave Yosemite National Park via Highway 120 even though we see a sign cautioning that snow chains are required 5 miles ahead. Time to test our luck and the 4 wheel drive if need be. We head out this direction because we want to stop by the gorgeous Cascade Falls on the way out and see how they are flowing. The waterfall was flowing nicely, those storms really do wonders for the waterfalls. As we continue on, we enter a winter wonderland and find snow on the ground and in the trees–very pretty and calm. We stop for some pictures and a coyote pops up on the other side of the road. Luckily the snow didn’t get bad and we didn’t have to turn around for lack of tire chains. We take a side trip to Hetch Hetchy to view the O’Shaughnessy Dam and the reservoir. The water is still low in the reservoir, but it’s still pretty. And we’re all happy that I leave today better off then when I broke my ankle here last year… YAY!
Yosemite - Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias
(Click photo for all 125 photos)
Tersha, Vic and I headed down to Yosemite National Park for the weekend, to see if there were any autumn colors left and for Tersha to get her big tree fix at the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. When we came up in the Spring last time, the road to the grove was still snowed under, so we didn’t get to visit it. We did some picture stops in the valley, checking out the last of the fall colors and the waterfalls that had just been rejuvenated by the recent storms. The weather was just lovely during the day. We did a little loop hike at the grove of the giants and was just awed by the magnificent trees. Along the trail we came across a herd of deer that were resting not far from us, it was very cool. I’ve never seen that many deer at once in one place, there must have been a dozen just laying there looking back at us. And further down the trail, a couple came bounding down the hill and crossed the trail in front of us. It starts raining as we get back down to Camp Curry for the evening. Unfortunately, the Yosemite Lounge is undergoing renovation, so we decide to try and get a spot in the Dining Pavilion to hang out in because our tent neighbor angrily blamed every sound in Camp Curry on us this morning. And the next morning he again accused us of making noise all night long and we weren’t even there last night, but according to him, it was us making the noise–some people just don’t have a clue.
Tickled Pink!
My friend Qian used one of my photos as inspiration for a watercolor painting… that’s so cool. Check it out on her Voice of Color blog! And check out all her artwork, she’s a wonderful and talented artist.
She’s donating the painting to the local PBS station (KVIE ) for their art auction in September of this year, so keep an eye out for it and place a bid!
Road Trip — Tioga Pass
(34 photos)
The last scenic stretch of my road trip was driving the Tioga Pass road through Yosemite National Park. It’s been a number of years since I’ve taken this route and it is beautiful. The first snowfall happened a few days ago, so the mountains are dusted with snow and soon this pass will be closed for the winter and entirely under snow. There’s a number of lakes along the way and I stop and view them since I still have daylight hours left to enjoy.
